Chapter 2: New home

Disclaimers: The characters present in this story are not mine but are the creation of J.K. Rowling. If they were mine than following might have been the story of Harry Potter. This story is just the tweaking of the plots of the Harry Potter books written by J.K.

Reposted.

Chapter 2: New home

'Words' as thoughts

"Words" as spoken

'Words' as memory

Words as spells

For the first time in the history of Hogwarts, not a single sound was heard. That was the scene inside the great hall as soon as the sorting hat had said "Slytherin". Such was the astonishment at the choice of house for Harry Potter that even the teachers were stunned. It was also the first time in many years, since the days of the founders, that all four houses had the same expression and same thought on their minds: "Harry Potter in Slytherin house? Was history to be repeated? Was he another dark lord in the making?"

Before Harry removed the hat, he asked the Sorting Hat. "Will the information gained form my mind be shared with anyone else?" Glancing over his shoulder at the headmaster.

"No," the hat replied, "I will not share any information I have gleaned from your head, it is between you and me, however, I would suggest you check you ancestry. One should always know their family's past thoroughly." The hat said cryptically

Nobody knew about the choice given to Harry about his house. That secret was kept from others for a very long time and only handful will ever know that secret.

Harry got up from the stool, placed the hat on the stool and calmly walked towards the Slytherin table. Nobody clapped each and every person was stunned. Harry sat at the farthest end of the table where no one was sitting. After some time the Professors came out of their stupor and the sorting was finished.

Headmaster Dumbledore stood up started to give speech, "Welcome," he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!" Harry was thinking that the headmaster was a bit mad. He would be careful with him. After those words, the long tables were filled with different types of food. Food of nearly every variety was present there. Although there was a gap between the place where Harry sat and others, nobody moved near Harry to befriend him. Harry was not bothered by that preferring it that way having grown up friendless.

As he was eating the food, Harry suddenly felt a presence of more than one person beside him. He didn't turn to watch them but continued to eat anyway. "My name is Draco Malfoy, Potter. These two are Crabbe and Goyle." Said the voice. Harry turned and looked at them. The name boy called (named) Draco Malfoy was small and white and had blond hair. By the tone of his voice, Harry knew that Draco Malfoy was arrogant and was used to get his way. This reminded him too much of Dudley. Other two boys looked like they were the bodyguards of Draco Malfoy. They both were fat and looked like only strength without any brains. Harry was presented a hand to shake and he shook it calmly. He then turned around and continued eating. After some time the three boys left Harry alone.

As soon as the dinner was finished, headmaster rose into his feet and addressed the students again; "Just a few start of term notices to all of you now that your stomachs have been satisfied. First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well." Dumbledore was watching the red headed twins sitting at the Gryffindor table when he announced the last part.

"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used in the corridors between classes. Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for his or her house teams should contact Madam Hooch. And finally, I must tell you that this year that the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death. And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" cried Dumbledore. Harry noticed that the other teachers' smiles had become rather fixed. They sang the song that Harry thought was rather idiotic.

All the students then went to their respective houses. Following the prefects, the first year Slytherin students went towards the dungeon as all the other older students were heading towards their own houses. They were all congregating at the front of the portrait of a very large snake. Suddenly a fifth year old boy came forward and spoke to the first year students, "My name is Terrance Higgs and I'm your fifth year prefect." He was pointing at a girl who looked similar in age to him and said, "She's another fifth year prefect and her name is Andriana McAllister. To enter into the Slytherin common room you need to speak the password in front of this password. If you speak the correct password you'd be allowed to enter, otherwise you're stuck outside until another someone gives the correct password. The password for now is Salazar." With that said, he opened the portrait and entered into the common room.

The first years entered inside the common rooms and the fifth year prefect spoke again, "The boys' dormitory is towards the right and the girls towards the left. Boys aren't allowed to enter the girls' dormitory." Then he left. The first years looked at the common room. The first thought that came to Harry's mind was that it was damp, cold, and huge. There were about five or six fireplaces inside the common room. The common room was decorate in silver and green with the latter being more prominent color. Harry looked around and saw the door to the right and a nameplate above displaying 'Boy's dormitory'.

Harry entered through the door and saw a long corridor. There were seven doors and on each door the tag read which year belonged inside which door. Harry entered inside the door marked first years. Inside there was another corridor and six sets of doors. Each door had the name of the student. They were " Vincent Crabbe", "Gregory Goyle", "Draco Malfoy", "Theodore Nott", "Blaise Zabini" and "Harry Potter". Harry had the last door to the right.

Harry entered through the door that had his name. The room was average, and decorated in green and silver. It had a single bed, a desk. Also for the clothes, there was a wardrobe. The room was perfect for a single person. Near the foot of his bed, Harry found his magical trunk. Harry opened his trunk and took out one of his magical theory book. He locked the room using his own spell, changed into his nightclothes and started reading his book.

While the first years were checking their dormitories, inside the headmaster's room there was a gathering of four of the house heads, namely Minerva McGonagall as Gryffindor house head, Severus Snape as Slytherin house head, Pomona Sprout as Hufflepuff house head and Filius Flitwick as Ravenclaw house head. Also present there were Albus Dumbledore and his phoenix Fawkes. The main topic of discussion was the sorting of one Harry Potter.

"The world is crashing onto us. A Potter as a Slytherin" said Severus Snape.

"How could this happen Albus? How could James and Lily's child be sorted into Slytherin?" asked Minerva McGonagall.

"I don't know Minerva. Maybe Harry Potter will nullify the status of Slytherin house as dark wizard house. We could only guess." Replied the calm voice of Albus Dumbledore. He was also wondering why the sorting of Harry Potter had taken so long.

"Potter must be arrogant like his father. He sat aloof after the sorting even when Draco made an offer of friendship." Said the voice of Severus Snape.

Your childhood grudge should have died with the death of James, Severus; Harry Potter may not even be remotely like his father." Replied Professor McGonagall.

"There was something Hagrid noticed when he went to retrieve Harry from his relatives. When Hagrid had started describing about James and Lily's death to Harry, he simply said 'I know' and nothing else. Hagrid said that Harry was not very talkative or excited when visiting Diagon Alley. He looked like he was rather bored with the whole procedure." Dumbledore said to his colleagues.

"How could he know about the fate of his parent? He'll be just like his father. Attention seeking arrogant brat", replied Severus Snape.

The history between James Potter and Severus Snape was bitter. They both hated each other when they were at school. James Potter a prankster and golden boy of Gryffindor in his school years while Severus Snape was a Slytherin and the butt of pranks by James and his friends. So the hate felt by Severus Snape towards James Potter had carried over to Harry Potter as well.

"Harry is a mystery; His sorting took such a long time. And a Potter, a child of Lily and James no less, sorted into Slytherin, very odd. How would he know of his parents' fate? I believe we will need to watch him very closely, we do not want to create a new Tom Riddle." Stated Dumbledore more to himself than the other professors in the room.

"Can't you ask the sorting hat about the sorting of Harry Potter, Albus?" asked Professor Flitwick.

"Even if I asked, the sorting hat is bound by the magic of the castle not to reveal the secrets obtained from the students." Replied Dumbledore.

"Since you're Harry's head of house, Severus, you'll have to watch over him. And keep the hatred you felt towards James Potter to yourself. Don't hate him for his father's actions." said McGonagall. She had taught Severus Snape and had known about his feelings towards James Potter in their schooling years. Professor Snape didn't reply to her. Soon the discussion was wrapped up and the teachers retired to their own quarters.

Next day Harry woke up early, as it became his habit while staying at the Dursleys. At the Dursleys he would have to cook and clean the house, but at Hogwarts he was free to pursue any thing he liked. So he finished refreshing himself and started to tour the castle. His goal was to know the way around the castle at the end of his second year. Soon Harry was familiar with the way towards Great Hall, Library and Hogwarts Hospital.

When Harry got to the Great Hall for breakfast, it was nearly eight am. Many students were already eating breakfast at their respective House tables, as were the teachers at the head table. So he sat at the previous night's place in the Slytherin table. As he was having breakfast, he saw Professor Snape walk towards the Slytherin table. He went to every Slytherin students and handed them their timetables. Harry looked at his timetable and saw that his first period would start in nearly half an hour and it was Transfiguration with the Gryffindors. In fact, every period was with the Gryffindors. 'I won't show them fully what I can do in the class,' he thought while looking at his timetable.

After breakfast, Harry went to the dormitory, took his bags from the trunk, and went to find the Transfiguration class. He reached the class just in time. Many students were seated and so he took the last seat at the back of the class and waited for the teacher. There was a tabby cat seating at the desk looking towards the students. Harry took out his transfiguration and started reading it. He knew the book inside out but he had to wait for the teacher. Soon he heard some one running towards the class and saw Ronald Weasley and Neville Longbottom entering the class.

"Good thing that Professor McGonagall is not here, Neville," said Ron.

"Yeah, we could have been yelled at and lost points," Neville said.

Both of them went towards the front to take a seat. As soon as they were near the front desk, the tabby cat jumped from the desk and changed into Professor McGonagall.

"Bloody Brilliant," said Ron and while most of the class gave some undistinguished noise showing their surprise.

"Thank you, Mr. Weasley. But perhaps you and Mr. Longbottom would give me your excuse on coming late for the class." Professor McGonagall replied.

"We got lost professor. Couldn't find the class," replied Neville.

"So tell me why I shouldn't change one of you into a map of Hogwarts, so that you'd never be lost while finding the class." She asked.

"This is the first class, so you two will not be punished. Any more of this and we'll see about your punishment. Do you understand?" she asked. Both of them nodded their head in understanding.

"Now let us begin our first lesson on Transfiguration. Transfiguration is one of the hardest branches of magic that requires your whole concentration and will to perform even the smallest of tasks. The first few years of Transfiguration will help you grasp the concept of Transfiguration. Today we will be doing one of the basic Transfigurations, turning a matchstick into needle." She said and changed the matchstick into a finely pointed silver needle.

"So, all of you read chapters one and two and when you've finished reading the material, change your matchstick into a needle. Always read the theory first before practicing any magical spells." She said and sat on her chair. All the students were now reading the said chapters as asked. Although Harry knew how to perform the said Transfiguration, he pretends to be reading the book.

After some time, students began to practice the spell as said in the book. Harry and McGonagall were watching the students practicing the given spell and they saw various results. Soon a girl from Gryffindor, Hermione Granger, was able to change the matchstick into the needle. McGonagall walked towards her and said, "Good work, Miss Granger, 10 points for your achievement." Hermione beamed at her and started to read the next chapters on the book. Now Professor McGonagall was checking each student's work. Some had partial success while others hadn't any success at all. Harry then pretends to try to change the matchstick. When Professor McGonagall went to check his work, Harry's matchstick was half needle. The top part of his matchstick had changed into the needle while bottom part was still a matchstick. He didn't turn towards her as she inspected his work.

"Try more concentration on the whole matchstick to change into the needle, Mr. Potter." She said and went towards others.

Soon the lesson was finished and the students were given homework on writing a six-inch essay on the theory of Transfiguration.

The next period was Herbology and the first year Gryffindors and Slytherins went towards the Greenhouse. Professor Sprout waiting for them. She also said that the first few years would be used to gain knowledge about different plants. The first years were taught about the different types of soils and their uses.

Soon the first years returned from their classes and had lunch. The rest of the day was divided into study period where the first years would study by themselves at the Great Hall. The teachers would be present there to watch whether they were studying or not. Spells taught at class would be practiced during the period as well. Although teachers were present, many of the students just pretended to read while talking with their friends. Harry finished all of his homework during the study period and soon he was watching the other students out of the corner of his eyes while pretending to the read the book. He saw that most of the students of the other three houses were looking at Slytherins like they were evil. Even many of them were looking towards him as if he was evil. Most of the Slytherin students were looking towards the Gryffindors in hatred as well.

He knew the reason of such hatred but had no particular interest in joining the bandwagon of such actions. He was his own person and followed his own rules.

Soon the study time was over and the students returned towards their own dormitory. Harry deposited his book bag into his trunk and went towards the library. He was hoping that he could find different types of magical books inside the library. He took the route that he had found out that morning. Once he reached the library he went to the transfiguration section. During the course of reading the seventh year transfiguration book, he learned of animagi, a wizard who could change into and animal. It was one of the hardest branches of transfiguration and only a few, less than ten people had become animagus in the last century. Probably because it took a lot of raw power and a great understanding of transfigurations, as well as a strong mind.

Harry was fascinated by that and wanted to become one himself. Soon he found a book that described the process to become an animagus. He read the book intently committing it to memory. The first few lessons of the book described about famous people who were animagi in the past and who the current registered animagi are in the present. According to the book one could not change into a magical animal no matter how small the animal is, as it required much more power than becoming common animals. It also told about the legend of Merlin being able to change into a phoenix but gave no proof. Some of the famous animagi of the past were the four founders who could change into their respective House Mascots.

Harry checked the book out from the library in order to read inside his own room. The librarian was a middle-aged woman named Madam Pince. She looked skeptical, but gave the book to Harry without saying anything. Soon Harry went towards his room and placed the book inside the trunk. It was nearly dinnertime, so Harry went to the Great Hall. The Great Hall was noisy as most of the students were present there. They were talking with each other and in particular the Gryffindor section was little loud. Soon dinner was served and the students as well as the teachers were immersed in food.

The students and teachers dispersed after the food into their dormitories. The teachers and the prefects would patrol the corridors of the castle at the night for some time. Harry retreated into his own room and took out the Animagus Transfiguration book. 'I should try the Transfiguration process before my first year,' he thought. Soon he was immersed in the book. The first process as described in the book was to make a potion, which would help to see the inner animal. 'The potion described here is not so difficult to make but requires a lot of time, nearly a month. The ingredients required are used to make common potions, so that is not a problem. I could probably brew it inside my trunk," Harry thought. The potion would take the drinker into a sleep during which the form would be revealed. Then the next was the process of changing one's different body parts, at different times and then changing some of them at the same time. The last step would be changing whole body at the same time.

Harry looked at the list of ingredients for the potion and found out that they were in his own potions kit. He checked whether the bedroom door was locked, then went inside his trunk. There he started preparing the potion. It wouldn't be ready for a month. For the next thirty days, Harry checked the potion daily.

His classes the next day were Defense Against the Dark Arts and Astronomy for the day. Astronomy's theory classes were during the day and its practical were performed during the night. The Defense Against the Dark Arts class was a joke in Harry's opinion. 'The teacher could be afraid of his own shadow and he teaches Self-Defense class. There is something unusual with Professor Quirrell. I feel as if he's hiding something behind this frightened face,' Harry thought.

After the Defense class, they went to Astronomy class. Astronomy's first class was to teach students how to distinguish between the different planets of the solar system. Lunchtime soon came and then first year students went to their study session. Harry was only pretending to read while thinking about what kind of animal he would be. His imagination was roaming wildly at that time, as he thought that nothing was impossible with magic.

Next day the Slytherins had to attend three classes, Potions, Charms, and History of Magic. Slytherin head of house Professor Snape, who according to the general thinking favored his own house students, taught potion. The potion classes were in the dungeons, which looked gloomy. All the students were seated, waiting for the teacher. As soon as the bell signaled the class to be started, Professor Snape entered into the classroom and closed the doors. He wore black robes and his hair looked like grease was used to make it look slick, hooked-like nose, coal black eyes, and sneer in his face, he presented a challenge to most of the faint-hearted.

"There would be no foolish wand-waving in this class. Art of potions is one of the most complicated sciences in magical field. Most of you will never recognize this as an art. I expect you to perform to my high-standards in exams or face my wrath. If you are not l like most of the dunderheads that I have to teach." He said as walking towards his desk. He flicked his wand at the blackboard and writing started appearing at it. He soon started taking the roll call. He paused at Harry's name. Snape was in dilemma; he could either call on Harry Potter and make him a fool, or coddle him as he did all other Slytherin students. Snape looked at Harry with his coal-black eyes and then his Slytherin side came into effect. Snape would always hate the Potters because of his differences with James Potter. Soon he called other students name and finished roll call.

As soon as he finished taking roll call, he turned towards the Gryffindors and started asking questions, "Tell me, Weasley where would I get a bezoar."

"I don't know, Sir," replied Ron. Hermione's hand was raised up on the air to show that she knew the answer to the question.

"Ok next question. What is the function of a bezoar?" he asked.

"I don't know, Sir," again Ron replied. This time also Hermione's hand was raised high on the air. Most of the Slytherin students were sneering and openly laughing at Ron and the Gryffindors. It seemed that Snape overlooked anything done by the Slytherins.

"Didn't think to read the material before coming here? Did you? For your information, bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat, which could counter most of the poisons. Why aren't you writing it down?" he asked. The students immediately started writing it down. "And Weasley, 10 points from Gryffindor for failing to give answer to such easy questions," Snape said. Ron and the rest of Gryffindors looked mutinous but held their tongue. Snape could make it much worse than the 10 points difference. "Note the instructions on the board and make the potion as written there. The ingredients are inside the cupboard," he said and started grading papers from other potion classes.

The students searched the cupboard for the ingredients and soon all of them were immersed in potion making. Only Harry and Hermione's potion were right in color as described by the book. Some of them were giving particularly bad smells. Harry was working alone while Hermione was working with another Gryffindor named Seamus. Suddenly a glass breaking sound was heard. Snape walked towards Ron and Neville's work and said, "Can't you follow simple instructions, Weasley and Longbottom, zero for today's class. Next time if you break something inside my class, it will be detention." Snape was now checking everyone's progress and checked Harry's potion a little longer. Soon the class was dismissed after Snape gave them some homework.

Professor Flitwick, also Ravenclaw's head of house, taught charms class. His height was rather on the shorter side. He required standing on the table in order to see the whole class. The class was spent at reading different theories on how to perform basic charm. History of Magic according to most of the students was one of the boring subjects taught at Hogwarts. Professor Binns, who was a ghost, taught it. According to older students, the most exciting thing that happened while he taught was, Professor entering through the wall.

The next few weeks passed for Harry reading and working on his homework. He often was found out inside the Library looking at different books. Only Hermione was seen to spend as much time in the library as Harry did. While Hermione was looking at book, which helped her in schoolwork, Harry looked at books, which captured his interest. He practiced his spell works endlessly, with or without wand.

Soon the day of taking the Animagus potion came. Harry decided to take it at night, so that he would not be disturbed. The potion, according to the book, would be different in color, as it also required a drop of blood of the drinker. Others could not use his potion, as it was only made for one at a time. Right now, the color for Harry's Animagus potion was black. As soon as the potion cooled Harry drank it in one gulp, and quickly fell into a deep sleep to find his animal form.

A/N: Thank you Patrick for working wonders with this chapter.

This is reposting of the same chapter.

Again please, read and review.